Tokyo Governor announces creation of national party

Tokyo, Sep 25 (IANS) Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Monday announced the creation of a new party which she will use to jump to politics at the national level.

Koike, a former minister in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, could now pose a challenge to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the next elections, after her regional Tomin First Party swept the metropolitan assembly elections in July, reports Efe news.

Koike, addressing a press conference in Tokyo, said they would carry forward the Tokyo model to the national political sphere.

The Governor said they were working on its programmes and policies which will be officially revealed on Wednesday.

This would be a day before the dissolution of the lower house of parliament ahead of the General Elections, which Abe is expected to announce on Monday.

Although without an official programme, Koike announced that the principles of the Party of Hope will be based on five pillars.

Following her unexpected election earlier this year as Tokyo Governor — considered the second-most important political position in the country after the Prime Minister — Koike has increasingly been seen as a challenger to Abe at the national level.